Hamas has announced that it will hand over two more bodies of hostages who died in the Gaza Strip at 10pm (9pm Italian time). Ynet reports it. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the war with Hamas will end once the second phase of the ongoing ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which provides for the disarmament of Hamas, is completed. The second phase “also includes the disarmament of Hamas, or more precisely, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and, before that, the confiscation of Hamas’ weapons,” the Israeli leader declared during a television program on Channel 14. “When this has been achieved successfully – hopefully in the simple way, but if not, in the hardest way – then the war will end,” he added.
Hamas then returns the bodies of the killed hostages one by one, but it is not enough for Israel to break the deadlock on the ceasefire agreement. The Jewish state is determined not to take further steps in the agreement until everyone has returned home. So much so that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that the opening of the Rafah crossing, which is essential for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, “will be evaluated based on the ways in which Hamas will play its role in the return of the deceased hostages and in the implementation of the agreed framework”. In the meantime, “it will not reopen until further notice.”
The clarification came only a few minutes after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt had announced on Monday the reopening of the crossing to Palestinians who intend to return to the enclave. In recent days, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sàar had suggested a possible reopening of Rafah to humanitarian aid on Sunday: the agreement between Hamas and Israel provides that all Gaza crossings will be reopened to allow food, medicines and other supplies to arrive in sufficient quantities to alleviate the dramatic humanitarian crisis caused by over two years of war. But the Jewish State does not want to give in, accusing the militiamen of violating the agreement for not having yet handed over all the bodies of the killed hostages. After the return of 75-year-old Eliyahu ‘Churchill’ Margalit on Friday evening, the militants announced the repatriation of two further bodies. But there are still 16 missing, loudly invoked by demonstrators and families on yet another Saturday of street protests in Israel. For its part, Hamas has repeatedly highlighted the difficulties in recovering bodies due to the destruction of Gaza, a task in which they will be helped by a team of Turkish experts. And he in turn accused Israel of not respecting the agreement by continuing to attack: the civil protection of the Strip claimed to have recovered nine bodies among the eleven Palestinians killed by an IDF attack on a bus in Zeitoun, in Gaza City: four were children, two others are missing. The Israeli army said the vehicle was crossing the so-called “yellow line” that demarcates areas still under its control.
The issue of the bodies of the hostages has effectively put on hold the path outlined by Donald Trump’s plan, which is unable to move on to phase two desired by Washington: in addition to Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance is also expected in Israel on Monday, according to Channel 12, to verify the progress of the plan… And it shakes the stability of the truce. A truce also threatened by the latest statements from the Hamas political office, which seem to suggest an about-face on some key points of the agreement: according to Mohammed Nazzal, director of the political office based in Doha interviewed by Reuters online, the militiamen intend to maintain control of security in Gaza for an interim period, and therefore cannot commit to disarming for now. «What does the disarmament project mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?”, Nazzal asked.
In recent days Donald Trump had been clear in saying that disarmament remains a key element of the agreement with Israel. And after the words of the Hamas leader, Netanyahu’s office clarified that the militiamen must disarm “no ifs or buts”, underlining that “time is running out”. After justifying the executions documented in recent days by Hamas in the Strip as “exceptional measures”, the leader underlined that “this is a transition phase. From a civilian point of view, there will be a technocratic administration. On the ground, Hamas will be present,” he clarified, suggesting that after the transition phase, there should be elections in the enclave. Another issue that Nazzal brought into question is that of the international stabilization force for Gaza. According to the manager, the mediators did not discuss this with the group. But the proposal is contained in Trump’s plan. According to the Guardian, which cites diplomatic sources, a UN Security Council motion is being prepared to give the stabilization force broad powers to control the security of the Strip. And there is “the strong expectation that Egypt will lead it”, writes the British newspaper.